Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Programming by Voice, VocalProgramming

  Stephen C. Arnold, Leo Mark, John Goldthwaite (2000) — Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper presents VocalProgrammer, a system designed to enable programming entirely by voice, motivated primarily by the high incidence of repetitive stress injuries (RSI) among programmers. The authors note that the total cost of RSI of all types …

  • voice programming
  • speech recognition
  • repetitive stress injury
  • code accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • programming education
  • alternative input

• A Java Programming Tool for Students with Visual Disabilities

  Ann C. Smith, Joan M. Francioni, Sam D. Matzek (2000) — Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper presents JavaSpeak, a specialized programming environment designed to make learning Java accessible to students with visual disabilities. The authors, computer science educators at Saint Mary's University and Winona State University, ident…

  • programming education
  • visual impairment
  • screen reader
  • code accessibility
  • auditory interface
  • assistive technology
  • STEM accessibility

• Inspiring Blind High School Students to Pursue Computer Science with Instant Messaging Chatbots

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Maxwell B. Aller, Jeremy T. Brudvik, Jessica O. Leung, Lindsay A. Yazzolino, Richard E. Ladner (2008) — Proceedings of the 39th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE '08)

  This paper describes the design and delivery of a four-day computer science workshop for fifteen blind high school students at the National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam, where two hundred blind and low vision students explored disciplines often…

  • accessible education
  • blind students
  • screen readers
  • computer science education
  • inclusive design
  • CAPTCHA
  • assistive technology
  • programming education
  • universal design

• An Accessible Blocks Language: Work in Progress

  Varsha Koushik, Clayton Lewis (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This demonstration paper presents Pseudospatial Blocks (PB), a nonvisual blocks programming language designed to make block-based coding environments accessible to blind learners. Block languages like Scratch, Snap, MIT App Inventor, and Microsoft Bl…

  • blindness
  • programming education
  • screen reader
  • education
  • STEM accessibility
  • inclusive design
  • software accessibility

• Tangibles + Programming + Audio Stories = Fun

  Varsha Koushik, Shaun K. Kane (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This poster introduces Story Blocks, a tangible programming toolkit designed to make block-based programming accessible to blind and visually impaired users. Block-based programming languages like Scratch and Blockly are popular tools for teaching ch…

  • programming education
  • blindness
  • visual impairment
  • tangible interaction
  • children
  • inclusive design
  • STEM accessibility
  • block-based programming

• Interviews and Observation of Blind Software Developers at Work to Understand Code Navigation Challenges

  Khaled Albusays, Stephanie Ludi, Matt Huenerfauth (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This exploratory study investigates code navigation challenges faced by 28 blind software developers using their preferred coding tools and assistive technologies. The researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology and University of North Texas con…

  • blindness
  • programming education
  • software engineering
  • screen readers
  • workplace accessibility
  • code navigation
  • IDE accessibility
  • assistive technology

• Blocks4All Demonstration: a Blocks-Based Programming Environment for Blind Children

  Lauren R. Milne, Catherine M. Baker, Richard E. Ladner (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  Blocks4All is a tablet-based iOS application designed to make blocks-based programming accessible to blind and low-vision children. Blocks-based programming environments like Scratch and Blockly have become central to K-12 computer science education …

  • programming education
  • blindness
  • children
  • touchscreen accessibility
  • screen readers
  • blocks-based programming
  • educational technology
  • inclusive design

• Vocal Programming for People with Upper-Body Motor Impairments

  Lucas Rosenblatt, Patrick Carrington, Kotaro Hara, Jeffrey P. Bigham (2018) — Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This paper presents VocalIDE, a prototype voice-based integrated development environment (IDE) designed to enable people with upper-body motor impairments to write and edit computer code using speech commands rather than a keyboard. Only 4% of profes…

  • speech recognition
  • motor impairment
  • cerebral palsy
  • spinal cord injury
  • programming education
  • voice interface
  • IDE
  • Wizard of Oz
  • text entry
  • workplace accessibility

• Demo: Expanding Blocks4All with Variables and Functions

  Jacqueline Shao Yi Ong, Nana Adwoa O. Amoah, Alison E. Garrett-Engele, Mariella Irene Page, Katherine R. McCarthy, Lauren R. Milne (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This demonstration paper describes extensions to Blocks4All, an accessible blocks-based programming environment (BBPE) for iPad designed to enable children with visual impairments to learn programming through touchscreen interaction with screen reade…

  • programming education
  • blind
  • low vision
  • visual impairment
  • screen readers
  • VoiceOver
  • STEM accessibility
  • blocks-based programming
  • motor impairment
  • color blindness
  • robotics
  • Switch Control

• GoDonnie: A Robot Programming Language to Improve Orientation and Mobility Skills in People Who are Visually Impaired

  Juliana Damasio Oliveira, Márcia de Borba Campos, Alexandre Amory, Rafael H. Bordini (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This demonstration paper presents GoDonnie, a text-based programming language designed to help people who are visually impaired (PVI) develop both computational thinking and orientation and mobility (O&M) skills simultaneously. GoDonnie is based on L…

  • orientation and mobility
  • visual impairment
  • programming education
  • robotics
  • screen readers
  • STEM accessibility
  • spatial cognition
  • computational thinking
  • blind